WORLD FINAL TO BE HELD IN PARIS: OCT 31 – NOV 2, 2018

Press release

WORLD CHOCOLATE MASTERS TO IMMERSE SALON DU CHOCOLAT 2018 IN A FUTURIST VISION OF CHOCOLATE GASTRONOMY

27 Oct, Paris. From October 31 to November 2, the Salon du Chocolat Paris 2018 will again host the World Final of the World Chocolate Masters. This competition is the world cup for chocolate craftsmanship – an initiative of Cacao Barry to advance creative artisanship with chocolate and put new talent in the global spotlight. It is sending off its 21 finalists, representing as many countries, to the world final. What’s at stake? Winning the prestigious title of World Chocolate Master 2018. The competition’s theme ‘Futropolis’ challenges all finalists to imagine what the future of chocolate gastronomy will look and taste like by 2025.

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A new era for Salon du Chocolat and the World Chocolate Masters

The renewed partnership between Salon du Chocolat and the World Chocolate Masters promises to become a new compelling chapter. After the previous successful final in 2015 – with France’s multi-talented chocolatier-patissier Vincent Vallée winning the competition – World Chocolate Masters decided to select the salon again as perfect backdrop for its competition. Together with Salon du Chocolat, they plan to again innovate the format of the competition and turn it into a spectacular arena for the world’s upcoming generation of highly creative chefs and patissiers. The competition will be open to the public attending the salon. At the same time, it will be livestreamed on Facebook and Youtube for every chocolate lover in the world to join.

Futropolis: the future visions of chocolate gastronomy

This edition's theme 'Futropolis' challenges all finalists to think about the future of chocolate gastronomy. More specific, how the cities of the future will influence the way we will live and eat, and how chocolate will delight our days. The jury specifically will be looking forward to exploring new chocolate taste combinations, forward-thinking patisserie concepts and a design language that will define tomorrow's commercial patisserie and chocolaterie presentations.

Changing consumer preferences, trends and new technology will be at the heart of the creative challenges, showcased by the finalists.

On a mission to unbox creativity

The World Chocolate Masters – an initiative of French premium chocolate couverture maker Cacao Barry – is one of the world’s unique platforms for artisan chocolatiers, patissiers and chefs all over the world to surpass their limits and explore new creativity. At the same time it offers young chefs the opportunity to emerge and unveil their talent to a wide, global audience of foodies, chocolate lovers, chefs, bloggers and the international press.

The competition grows: 21 countries participating

The competition will welcome new countries to the final and reaches 21 participating nations for the first time. Finalist from newcomers Australia and the North African region will side traditional participating countries such as France, Italy, Belgium, UK, Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico, Russia, China and many more.

All participating countries will have selected their finalist after the national qualifying rounds held locally between January 2017 and January 2018. According to the local professional juries – all jury members being leading experts in the culinary and/or gastronomy industry – the creative and artistic levels achieved in these national selections already proved very high. As all finalists start their preparations for the final from January onwards, the organisation expects to see “an unprecedented high level of mouth-watering creativity in the final”.

3 rounds – a new set of creative challenges

For the first time, the World Chocolate Masters – 2018 World Final will be built around 3 rounds, corresponding to the 3 competition days and challenging the contestants to work on exciting creative assignments.

OCT 31: ROUND 1 – all 21 finalists

• • Chocolate showpiece ‘The Futropolitan’: a showpiece made entirely of chocolate, created live during the event and challenging the conventions of the classic showpieces.
• • Chocolate Travel Cake (Gâteau de Voyage): a creative reinvention of the traditional gateau de voyage, based on chocolate sponge and fitting the lifestyle of travellers.

NOV 1: ROUND 2 – all 21 finalists

• • Or Noir ‘Futurology’: creating the chocolate tablet of the future, based on each finalist’s bespoke Or Noir chocolate and exciting pairings.
• • Chocolate Snack to Go: a new chocolate snack based on a street food concept, fitting our future nomad, mobile style of living.
• • Moulded chocolate bonbon: the bonbon of the future, unlocking new sensorial delights.

NOV 2: ROUND 2 – 10 finalists with the highest score from round 1 + 2

• • Fresh Patisserie of Futropolis: a completely fresh chocolate patisserie of the day, made from scratch, using fresh ingredients, less sugar and prepared without using the freezer to create delicate textures and flavours.
• • Chocolate design ‘The City of the Future’: a piece of chocolate design in which several craft techniques and an intricate attention to detail and refinement must be shown

From the Round 1 and 2, the 10 highest scoring chefs will be selected who continue the competition in round 3. From the highest scores in Round 3, the new World Chocolate Master will be awarded.

An enriching journey among peers, for each contestant

“The World Chocolate Masters is much more than a culinary competition”, explains Ramon Morató – Cacao Barry’s Creative Director. “It is an incredible journey during which most contestants learn to push their own limitations. It’s their window to the global culinary world. For many of them, it is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to other chefs, learn from them, establish new contacts and develop their own creative thinking and processes. And not in the least, it is a platform for them to transform their professional path into international careers. If you look at some of the finalists and winners such as Frank Haasnoot, Davide Comaschi, Shigeo Hirai, Naomi Mizuno and Vincent Vallée… They’ve become the leading pastry and chocolate chefs in the world.”

A competition for chefs, curated by the world’s leading pastry chefs and chocolatiers

The World Chocolate Masters is a competition for chefs, curated by chefs. The jury consists of leading experts in the patisserie and chocolate industry from all participating countries. The 2018 World Final will be presided by former World Chocolate Master Frank Haasnoot (NL) who has built an international career and spent many years in Asia’s top gastronomy landmarks after winning the competition in 2011. “I am really looking forward to the boasting levels of creativity that mark this competition. The industry has changed so much over the last 5 years. And it doesn’t stop evolving. It will be extremely exciting to witness the energy from a new league of top professionals coming from all over the world.”, Haasnoot explains.

Pushing the boundaries in chocolate creativity

“The World Chocolate Masters has always been the platform where new talents showcase how they push the boundaries of chocolate. What chefs created there was often a preview of a new trend that was found months and years later in the high streets. Now we’re stepping up the game. We’re really looking forward to seeing a new take on chocolate by young, millennial chefs and their ideas of flavour creation, even combining it with savoury elements, plants, locally grown ingredients, etc.”, Joost Lindeman – Global Brand Manager for Cacao Barry - explains.

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